Customer Reviews

Dubai (SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S 2XCD BOOK EDITION)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think the reason most people reered back in disgust at this album after Warren's superb Shanghai is because this is HOUSE music, and not progressive trance or even trance at all. It's a deviation from the norm, and occasional change is most often an unwelcome circumstance. Dubai, ableit the addition of admittedly too many ridiculous vocals, sounds much like Darren Emerson's Uruguay release in its 'flavor' - fun, a bit retro, HOUSE music. I love both House and Trance (in all its glorious forms) but Trance > House for me. Yet I was still able to gain SOME enjoyment out of these sets and not totally deride Sharam as a sham.

For starters, these sets are nothing like the epic journeys DJ's like Seaman, Sasha, Digweed, Warren or Cattaneo will take you on. No comparison. Night and Day. And these discs, in my opinion, were not MEANT to be taken as progressive trance, and therefore should not be harshly judged based on their failure to BE something which they were never intended to be. As a whole, the album is alright. Not fantastic, not great, but alright. 3 stars would have been more appropriate, considering it does not match the steadfast quality of previous Global Underground releases and fails to enrapture me to the same extent; I've given it four, however, out of fairness - it IS a good progressive house mix; there is good track variation (although he uses quite a few artists twice, especially during the first disc) and, like Emerson's GU015, I never really know where this is going to go next. This is Sharam integrating the underground with popular culture, but I still do not believe he has crossed that red line as much as Oakenfold has.

It's a pensive GU. It keeps you on edge as it fluctuates between throroughly enjoyable progressive house/bordering on trance and purely house music. Sharam rides the fine line between the two genres, and this is upsetting to most people for reasons that I can understand and fully sympathize with. To others, it may be exciting. To each his own...

...but, for God's sakes! To give this album 1 or 2 stars based on its inability to live up to mixes like Seaman's Buenos Aires, Sasha's Ibiza, Warren's Brazil/Shanghai/Reykjavik? That's certainly a travesty. Every DJ is going to possess his or her own unique style and genre preference, especially when making a mix album like Dubai. Rate this album for what it was MEANT to be, and not for what you would LIKE it to HAVE BEEN. Sure, up until recently Global Underground has prided itself on consistency and we've all grown complacent to that fact. It is mixes like the 29th GU which shake us up a bit and keep this burgeoning dance scene a bit unpredictable, and a bit exciting.

I hope someone sees my point on this. This is House music, people; not "crappy progressive trance".

~Lex

I own every frickin' GU that there is and I skipped this one when it was released because I didn't think I liked Deep Dish. I hated Toronto and I thought the after club discs were lame. I didn't trust Deep Dish and the change that their releases were bringing to the GU empire. But then I unexpectedly loved Dubfire in Taipei which I got just to give Deep Dish and GU one more chance. So, I decided to take a chance on Sharam, fully expecting to be dissapointed. well, the joke's on me because I think this disc is just fine. It's shiny, funky and not quite as ponderous as some ultra serious GU mixes can tend to be.I finally surrendered my expectations of what I thought a GU disc was 'supposed' to be and as I enjoyed this set, it dawned on me: GU releases GOOD MUSIC. It doesn't matter that trance is over. When trance was the big sound, they released the best trance mixes of all. Now, they're just releasing good dance music, whatever the style,cheese free. Some mixes are still trance-y,some aren't. Some releases are better than others, but they are all noble efforts by masters, including this one. Then, I went back to the older Deep Dish GU releases to make sure I didn't miss anything. I still didn't like Toronto much, but I realised that Sharam's Toronto after club sounded better to me than before. It was then that I fully realised what the term 'ahead of it's time' means. That disc was ahead of it's time. Wow. Now, I get it. And this release is right on time.
Don't be late.

I don't mean it has less production than other limited releases, I just meant it's a little short on bonus features in that long book. It's the same fold out book format as the previous two GU's and it's also filled with location photography like the the others. The one thing the other two had were interviews and bios about some of the residents of Miami and Shanghai. They weren't the most interesting of features, but at least it was more than just the annoying Dom Phillips sleeve notes. It's just the notes and the photos. If GU hasn't used a better writer than Dom after 29 releases, I don't think we'll ever get that benefit.

Now, onto the mixes:

After two stunning GU's in '05 from Danny Howells and Nick Warren, we had to wait until late 2006 to get the only release of the year from their prolific GU series, #29 by half of the Deep Dish duo, Sharam. It's less progressive than Warren's and more upbeat than Howells, so it's more like a danceable Miami. If you liked Miami, but wanted some faster paced house, this is it.

There are a lot of vocals on both discs, but they are all good tracks, especially the one to open disc 1, a stunning remix by Nicka & Asle of the Julie Dennis voiced Sugar (Sweet Thing). It's a killer track to start the mix, although I wasn't keen on the choice to start disc 2, an old school house tune that just didn't cut it for me. Aside from that opening track on disc 2, and where he lets the Deep Dish remix of Paul Van Dyk's The Other Side play a little too long on disc 1, I thought both discs were great. I liked disc 2 slightly better, only because of the incredible line-up of tracks making up the latter portion of the mix (tracks 8-14).

You've got great vocals, chunky house tunes, thumping dance floor beats, some guitars and cellos thrown in for good measure, all adding up to a fine release for the GU series. I actually liked Dubfire's Toronto Afterclub mix a tad better than Sharam's, but I think he is going to have his work cut out for him when he tries to top this with his own solo GU mix due out this year. Also due out in February is Nick Warren's GU30, and Adam Freeland is set to do GU32, after Dubfire's 31. I don't know if all 3 will be released in 2007, but at least two should be, which is at least one more than '06!

For starters the idiot that gave this 1 star also gave Balance 008 1 star so it's apparent that he has no credibility when it comes to the latest house music. As for myself I have to say that this year I had been waiting for a house CD like this for some time.

This is definitely one of the best house sets to come out of 2006.

Disc one is more laid back than disc two (an afterclub type disc) and is probably a 4 star disc in itself, but wait until you hit disc 2. Sharam kicks it up a notch with some of the best driving beats and vocals. Just enough of both will get you pumping all the way through to track 10. It starts slow but ramps up fast. It steadily keeps you satisfied all the way through to track 10, at which point it takes a turn. Almost as if to let the crowd get a breather. Track ten starts to go toward tribal beats without vocals. That's cool for about 5 minutes, but it goes on for about 2.5 tracks. I would have liked to see Sharam use some tracks from the first CD here if he was going to slow it down, but oh well. After the rather lackluster tracks of 11 and 12 he starts his return flight home bringing you in for the finale. (In my opinion he probably could have done without tracks 11 and 12 since it's too long of a break from the first 10 tracks) After the break 13 is solid while 14 leads you off with a vocal dance-beat filled reprise in "Feedback"... "I'll be chasin' you home..."

Make no mistake this isn't comparable to a disc like Renaissance the Masters series, since it's the house that will make your girl want to get out of her seat at the club and hit the dance floor. It's solid (dark at times) powerful dance house on the second disc that just radiates energy.

I can see the lasers cutting through the fog machine now with the strobe hitting the whole dance floor bouncing up and down...

Buy this set if for no other reason than for disc 2.

Keep the beat going Sharam...

Just got the cd last week, at first glance it was ok and I wasn't that much impressed. But I kept listening to those twisted frequencies of cd 1 and it's really mesmerizing.

Let me get this straight, I've been dee-jaying for 3 years myself and listening to electronic music for over 15 years. After all those years u can become very picky and snobbish. There'S a certain type of sound that u like, or dislike and u happen to recognize it very quickly. But the most difficult thing as a DJ - is to build a set - and especially taking a theme and stretching it out into an ever increasing artform. That's what separates amateurs like me, over the ground djs and guys like say Sharam or Dubfire of deep dish. But forget any glimpses of George is on, this GU we are talking about, traditionnally deep, emotive, and lush progressive house, evolved from the early british scene of the 90's, EYE Q music, Sven Vath, Age of love. So trance music, but not cheesy trance à la Gatecrasher and tedious hi hats and bass lines.

So the music now ? I'm getting into it. But first, CD 1. It's unbeleiveable, Sharam is on FIRE !!!!!!!! The momentum of the disc, the climax explodes until the end, and each track just looks likes it was made for being mixed with the other one. This guy isnt the most skilled at all, all the mixes are basically, fades out, echoed, chopped and twisted. But boy he's got a musical ear, he knows how to build a set with cohesive and increasing BPM, he knows how to make the tracks flows, what vocal to put on, what bridge to create or erase, and how to manipulate the crowd (people from Québec City in Canada will recall his incredible set from july 2005 @ Le Dagobert).

Djing is all about 3 things : skills, taste and passion. Sure u've got to possess some skills in order to create a seamless set, but if that's all you've got it's so boring. Anyone can be technical with a 808 and a mixer. Combine that with a strong musical taste and a knowledgeable ear and we've got something interesting going on. Add this to to an amazing passion for music and we're turned on ! A passion for music, is indeed what seperates an average person with an artist. A DJ is a music addict, a person that never counts his energies devoted to a cause, a freak who's willing to spend his wage on music, and obviously his spare time, on crate digging itself.

DJ's are certainly not rockstars but they are the new priests, the chamans of techno, the conductors of an evolving mystery that is music. They can trigger shivers and goosebumps, but actually this is not true because so much of a handful can do this. And Sharam is one of them. You can argue about the perfection of this computer based mix, but you certainly can't argue with his PASSION, HIS LOVE AND SENSITIVITY.

DJ are elements of subjects of substance, that fuels the mind within our axis. That are the missing link between what is unbearable and what is real, they can bring emotivity to world too often based upon ignorance.

CD 1 is one the most compelling piece of trance I've heard in the last few years, danceable yet emotionnal and uplifting. I can't really pinpoint a track in particular but The other Side by PVD is up there as a trance classic, and mind talking is gorgeous. From 9 to 12 it's a gorgeous soundtrack to our existence. Cd 2 is more electro dark stuff and some funky house, less my taste but nonetheless worth checking out.

Don't miss it, if you're a true chaman...

Nothing else matters, life wouldn't be so worth without music, and especially music like this.

Let's not forget that DJs make mixes to get people to move. Period. Anything else is pretentious. Sure there are those who like to think of these mixes as somehow offering up spiritual transcendence or brotherly love or intellectual freedom (IDM anyone?) but when it comes down to it the bottom line is that the really good DJs get us to dance, whether in our heads or with our bodies.

The guys from Deep Dish have a pop sensibility that is tough to beat.

Sharam follows through once again on this mix. A diversity of sounds and tunes. Many of which have vocals, most of them about heartbreak and breakups set which seems to me like it would be a great catharsis for heartbreak, an assertion of independence to a wicked beat.

There is a mixture of beats throughout which seems to be something of a trend in these mixes. If you liked James Lavelle's GU Barcelona release with a variety ranging from DJ Shadow to Sasha to rap and rock tunes remixed, you'll find much of the same here.

The talent of Sharam is the way the beats are mixed and hooks the listener and doesn't let go. Many of the songs could make it on the radio. Sometimes it sounds like disco, sometimes it sounds like old school Tenaglia, sometimes it gets moody, sometimes it goes in a bunch of different directions (a mix of rap group Crime Mob), and there's even a tune that instantly brings to mind the electric guitars of Nick Warren's Shanghai release but it sounds good throughout. I hate to even try and label it.

It's infectious.

The only other DJs I can think of who have a similar grasp on how to mix music with pop sensibility would be Gabriel and Dresden, especially on their 'Bloom' CD set.

Nothing deep, just ear candy here. Remember when techno was fun? Here ya' go. It's been on non-stop rotation for days.

I love the Global Underground series, but not every track in every mix is my taste or to my liking. There are several excellent mixes in the series by the likes of Nick Warren, Sasha, James Lavelle, Darren Emerson, and recently Dubfire and Felix Da Housecat, but few are completely enthrawling and constantly rocking. Nick's 'Reykjavik' mix, Darren's 'Bogota', and Dub's 'Taipei' have great pace and tempo and some really awesome, memorable tracks, and Lavelle's mixes add a change of pace to the series by giving us some sweet breakbeats and UNKLE stuff, but Sharam's 'Dubai' mix blows just about everything else away! This set is a non-stop, banging ride through one slamming song after another.

It starts off slightly soft with the sexy Nicka & Alse mix of 'Sugar(Sweet Thing)' by DYAD10, but quickly kicks it up a notch w/ some hot tracks by Spider & Legaz, 16 Bit Lolitas (who both have a couple more tracks on here as well), and Syntax. Felix's mix of 'Bliss' is just AWESOME! The guitar riff is looped seamlessly and sped up slightly to move w/ the added bass and beats. These are all house tracks, and so are most of the others on this and disc 2, but they are interrupted by the heavy, dark techno beat of 'Majorca Roots' before being connected up again w/ Deep Dish's mix of PVD's 'Other Side' (another favorite & one of the longest). This is the best version of this song I've heard. It really compliments the vocals very well. Then we have Dave Aude's Redux/Dub of Lunascape's 'Mindstalking', practically unrecognizable from its original soft/light sound. It's been remolded nicely into a VERRRY HOT smashing club thumper and is probably my second favorite song on the whole set just because of Kyoko Baertsoen's vocal loop. Check out the original as well(kind of Bristol-sounding). The disc lightens up a bit after this, still keeping pace, though. Gabriel & Dresden fans will love the 16 Bit Lolitas vs. Motorcycle track. The last 3 songs mesh seemlessly and close the first half very well. Iio's Nadia Ali spices up John Creamer & Stephane K's 'Something To Lose' and Aude pops up again to remix 'Stillettos', again unrecognizable, and again a great change. Hot/Sexy track! Pig and Dan's electro-tinged 'Eiffel Nights' wraps up side one.

The mix takes a break from kicking your teeth in with the lighter old-school nineties-sounding 'Direct Me' before getting back to business w/ some more heavy stuff. 'Everlasting' by Miss Nine is about the only other light track before Nadia's second appearance on AV Buuren's 'Who Is Watching' & the ending by Planet Funk. 'Connected' is a little bit electro and Simon and Shaker's 'Zero' has some excellent dark techno vibes, but Aude's mix of 'Smaller' by Suite 117 gets back to the heavy house groove. This is my favorite track! I love the vocal and the music Freakin' ROCKS! Takes a nice guitar sample break in the middle, but keeps tempo and rhythm to build back into the bass and beats. AWESOME!!! Twotrups' 'Cello Track' is the next stand-out w/ its Gabe&Dres vibe and cool string samples. Again the last few tracks mesh seamlessly to tie the whole thing together. Kanzyani's mix of 'Feedback' by Acquaviva & Madox is HEAVY!!! Sweet hard techno, super-up-tempo track! Another Fave! (check out Trouble Soup's stuff if you like this - I recently discovered Madox and Santos got together to form that group! cool! 'Everyday' is a nice 'end-of-the-night track to fade out to.

Overall I think disc one is stronger, but neither one has a single track that you're going to want to skip and they book-end each other well. Not only the best GU set, but one of the coolest and hottest electronic mixes I've ever heard! Most of these sets tend to be too 'underground', but this one has so much life in every track, it's amazing. Also, almost every track contains vocals which helps. I like these more, usually, than instrumentals, especially when those are too repetitive. This set also has some of the most stunning photography of all the mixes. This one is definitely worth the extra money if you can find the Deluxe version. They sometimes are hard to get good/perfect copies of. Check This Out and ENJOY!

this cd is very good has awesome tracks but some are kind of to trance-e i like the more progressive tech house style but overall it's a awesome cd if you don't have it you must get it

This is a great mixed up compilation of good house and minimal house.

Last weekend we were at the camping village of Nature One. And we played this CD's the hole time.

It was a great time there with the finest of electronic music.

Absolutely stellar mix with a real party vibe that has been absent on many of the new GU releases. Sharam remains a tastemaker and a brilliant DJ with a simple attitude towards mixing; that is to say he simple gets out of the way of a bevy of amazing songs. Highly, highly recommended.